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Hi,
I have recently discovered Pathfinder (and Paizo in general) and am preparing to start a new Adventure Path campaign. Right now I'm trying to figure out which one to start running. We will be using PFRPG rules, but I'm not averse to doing some conversion work to pull one of the older APs up to the newer system.
My question to the group is this: which of the APs do you enjoy most, and why.
I've been leaning heavily towards Legacy of Fire due to its Arabian Nights influences, but so many folks talk about how awesome Rise of the Runelords is. What sets the different APs apart from each other?
Thanks for any insight!
/Paul
What sets them apart from eachother?
Rise of the Runelords has a great story and sense of mystery. It can be a bit of a "meat grinder" so plays best with groups that like intense combat. It also involves a lot of travel through an area about the size (if not climate) of the U.S. State of Alaska.
Curse of the Crimson Throne has a great urban feel, and can work really well with players that like role-playing.
Second Darkness starts out in a pirate haven, for players who want play more morally "grey" characters. It leads into conflicts with both largely mythical Dark Elves.
Legacy Of Fire, as you said, this has a great "Arabian Nights" feel and should lend itself to some great role-playing opportunities and problem-solving challenges.
Council of Thieves is a "wholely urban" adventure path, set into the diabolistic theocracy of Cheliax (Yes, you are living in a police state). This path should have all kind of opportunities for intrigue and detective work.
You can't go wrong with the first three APs in my opinion although the Rise of the Runelords books may be difficult to track down so I've heard.
True. Rise of the Runelords may be hard to find in print form now-a-days.
But, CJ may be under rating the Legacy of Fire AP.
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You can't go wrong with the first three APs in my opinion although the Rise of the Runelords books may be difficult to track down so I've heard.
I actually picked up the first 5 of RotR already, if nothing else than for the background. (I've got #6 on order.)
[edit]
To tell the truth, I've got the remaining volumes of all the adventure paths that I don't have on order, so hopefully they will be in soon. Yes, I'm a game lore-junkie. :)
/Paul
[edit 2] Fixing "Post As"
You can't go wrong with the first three APs in my opinion although the Rise of the Runelords books may be difficult to track down so I've heard.I actually picked up the first 5 of RotR already, if nothing else than for the background. (I've got #6 on order.)
/Paul
I do hope that I am not dumping the wrong kind of information on you then.
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I do hope that I am not dumping the wrong kind of information on you then.You can't go wrong with the first three APs in my opinion although the Rise of the Runelords books may be difficult to track down so I've heard.I actually picked up the first 5 of RotR already, if nothing else than for the background. (I've got #6 on order.)
/Paul
No, I just lucked out on eBay and my FLGS. I picked up #3 and #4 at my local game store where, no doubt, they've been sitting since they were released and I just happened to find #1, #2, and #5 on eBay. I picked all of them up for a bit under retail (including shipping). According to Paizo's store, only 1, 3, and 5 are out of stock.
[edit] Fixing "Post As"
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My question to the group is this: which of the APs do you enjoy most, and why.
/Paul
My question back is this: what type of group do you have? do the prefer traveling or staying in one place? Roleplaying adventures or dungeon crawls?
also my 2CP on second darkness - its a great story, but I think its the hardest to run as is for a number of reasons(set pieces and assumptions made mostly, if I remember correctly).
My question back is this: what type of group do you have? do the prefer traveling or staying in one place? Roleplaying adventures or dungeon crawls?
This is why I had to make some additional comments on the APs. The "best" AP really would depend on the tastes of the playing group. Some people may love the combat intense Rise of the Runelords, another group may hate it.
also my 2CP on second darkness - its a great story, but I think its the hardest to run as is for a number of reasons(set pieces and assumptions made mostly, if I remember correctly).
And, I have heard reviews that the #5 adventure of that series is especially weak.
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True. Rise of the Runelords may be hard to find in print form now-a-days.
But, CJ may be under rating the Legacy of Fire AP.
I loved the first 2 books, liked some of the other ones but honestly, I really didn't like the transition from one dimensional jail to another in the 4th and 5th books.
I actually picked up the first 5 of RotR already, if nothing else than for the background. (I've got #6 on order.)
Good, glad you found them.
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Damn Post Monster ate my first posting...on to re-typing it.
These are all in my opinion, so you may not share my views or thoughts on the APs.
RotRL (currently running)- This was the first since the Dungeon to Pathfinder transition. I don't feel it lacked any because of this. It has the best generic fantasy feel, but in a varied well thought out area. The PC's start as hometown heroes, and move their way up to solving mysteries, exploring the vast country side and the unknown beyond it learning about the country and a bit of the worlds history. I love this AP, and think it is one of the best Paizo have done.
CoCT (haven't played or run yet)- read numerous times, and when I get around to running it, I think it will be fantastic. There are lots of opportunities for roleplaying and a detailed book on the city.
Second Darkness (ran AP)- I will just say this is my favourite. My players loved the drow being sick, twisted, creatures they deserve to be. They all hated the drow as depicted with a passion I have not seen the PC's hate since Vanthus in Savage Tide. The group loved learning about the Azlanti, and the Aboleth magic, the secret of the drow, and infiltrating a drow city. This AP was awesome, but did take some tinkering to hammer out some of its flaws. The only weak moment was the 5th chapter, which while fun, wasn't written the best.
Legacy of Fire (ran up to part 5)- The first level module, Howl of the Carrion King is brilliant. That needed to be said. The whole AP had great environments, fun locales, and great NPCs. The weak point I felt was House of the Beast, which wasn't terrible, but the weakest part of the AP. Perhaps because it was just one long dungeon crawl, although with great history lessons. The PC's and myself loved part 4, but when it came to them escaping and being in another prison, they got fed up.
CoT AP- Haven't read or run this. HOPEFULLY going to get to play in this one eventually....damn GMing for the last oh, 5 years lol.
Kingmaker (not out yet)- When this comes out, we will all enjoy this. This seems to be our groups favourite idea yet. We will run this, and enjoy the whole thing I am sure.
So that is my opinion on them, but from my experience, I would say Second Darkness, just for the involving mysteries, and history they learn. Then Rise of the Runelords, because of its great fantasy feel.
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I didn't see anyone actually post this tidbit that may or may not be important to the OP:
The new Council of Thieves is the only one that is (so far) written fully compatible with the updated Pathfinder RPG rules.
If you run any of the previous adventure paths, they are written for the 3.5 rules and would require some modification and conversion.
If you are playing using the Pathfinder RPG rules (which I think you mentioned you are), then the Council of Thieves would require the least amount of 'prep time'. For some that is a non-issue, but I figured I'd point that out if it was an issue.
Robert
Hi,
I have recently discovered Pathfinder (and Paizo in general) and am preparing to start a new Adventure Path campaign. Right now I'm trying to figure out which one to start running. We will be using PFRPG rules, but I'm not averse to doing some conversion work to pull one of the older APs up to the newer system.
My question to the group is this: which of the APs do you enjoy most, and why.
I've been leaning heavily towards Legacy of Fire due to its Arabian Nights influences, but so many folks talk about how awesome Rise of the Runelords is. What sets the different APs apart from each other?
Thanks for any insight!
/Paul
If you enjoy making players cry the SCAP. AOW, and STAP will work well, but since they are 3.5 you may have to convert them.
Savage Tide is my favorite, though it is Dungeon mag path not a pathfinder one.
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I didn't see anyone actually post this tidbit that may or may not be important to the OP:
The new Council of Thieves is the only one that is (so far) written fully compatible with the updated Pathfinder RPG rules.
If you run any of the previous adventure paths, they are written for the 3.5 rules and would require some modification and conversion.
If you are playing using the Pathfinder RPG rules (which I think you mentioned you are), then the Council of Thieves would require the least amount of 'prep time'. For some that is a non-issue, but I figured I'd point that out if it was an issue.
Robert
I'm waiting on Council of Thieves. While I absolutely love the adventures, I think that they would do better with a more established group of players. So far I've got 3 players (actually 2 and a "yeah, probably, as long as I don't have to buy anything") of which 2 have only gamed together for 3 Shadowrun sessions, and the third has never met the group. Add to that I will be inviting 2 completely unknowns to the group from the local meetup.com RPG group. I figure RotR will be easier for a group to mesh together with it than something like Council of Thieves. Plus, I want to know the rules backwards and forwards to be able to do Thieves justice! :)
/Paul
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I have GMed Rise of the Runelords and am currently running Curse of the Crimson Throne. I have run part of Second Darkness and just started playing in Legacy of Fire (so do not know much about that yet).
I enjoyed RotR and the players mostly had fun. They had a tough time in Chapter 4. They are enjoying CotCT even more - I have also enjoyed it a lot.
Second Darkness went kind of tough. There was an almost TPK in the 3rd chapter and they made new characters but it never really got going after that - not the fault of the AP. The other problem was when they reformed the party they created a pretty weak party with little healing ability and they were getting the butts handed to them.
My favorite is CotCT - followed closely by RotR. I do like Second Darkness and will try to finish it with them eventually.
I also am attracted to Savage Tide and would love to either play or GM it.
I didn't see anyone actually post this tidbit that may or may not be important to the OP:
The new Council of Thieves is the only one that is (so far) written fully compatible with the updated Pathfinder RPG rules.
If you run any of the previous adventure paths, they are written for the 3.5 rules and would require some modification and conversion.
Actually, I did, but perhaps not with the emphasis that you feel necessary. :)
